The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Vaccinium plant botanically known as Vaccinium vitis-idaea and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Red Candy’.
The new cultivar is the product of a breeding program conducted by the inventor in a cultivated area of Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Vaccinium cultivars with a compact habit, large numbers of flowers and large deep colored berries.
‘Red Candy’ is a hybrid that originated from the crossing of the female or seed parent an unnamed proprietary cultivar of Vaccinium vitis-idaea (not patented) and the male or pollen parent, Vaccinium vitis-idaea ‘Aalshorse’ (not patented) in 2004. The cultivar ‘Red Candy’ was selected by the inventor in 2006 as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment of Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction by cuttings of the new cultivar ‘Red Candy’ was first performed in 2006 in Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands. Since that time, under careful observation, the unique characteristics of the new Vaccinium cultivar have been uniform, stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.